COMPARATIVE STUDY OF RED COMPLEX PERIODONTAL PATHOGENS

Patients with fixed orthodontic appliances tend to exhibit signs of gingivitis and gingival enlargement with false pockets. Significantly higher occurrence of Treponema denticola and Tannerella forsythensis in adult patients with gingivitis and an attached fixed orthodontic appliance has been reported in the literature. Periodontal pathogens represent a significant risk not only for the periodontal disease but also for the patient¿s general health. Orthodontic anomalies and their treatment with a fixed orthodontic appliance create favourable conditions for colonisation of sub gingival plaque with periodontal pathogens and their following invasion into the cells. Hence the present study is aimed at identifying the red complex organisms, namely Porphyromonas gingivalis, Tannerella forsythensis and Treponema denticola in the plaque samples collected from pseudo pockets of subjects undergoing fixed orthodontic therapy. The organisms were identified using real time PCR.